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The Sorathian Affair: A Narrative Campaign

Within the space known to the Imperium of Man as the Viridian sector, lies the Sorathian system. Its young star is orbited by seven planets. During the Great Crusade these worlds were conquered in the name of the Emperor of humanity. Throughout the great war wrought by Warmaster Horus, every corner of the galaxy was touched by the conflict and this system was no exception.

In the aftermath, these distant worlds were abandoned by the new, more cautious Imperium. Some within the Administrartum would see the system return to the fold, and a reclamation fleet has already been dispatched. But humanity is not alone in its interest of this sector. Every major faction in the galaxy has something of value to gain amongst the Sorathian worlds.

Overview: This campaign is intended to be flexible, responsive to player input and focused on that “cinematic” aspect of the game that we keep hearing about. As you will see in the posts that follow, there are many factions participating in the campaign, each led by a varied cast of characters. These Warlords are the players’ avatars within the campaign. Events during the Sorathian Affair will be dictated by the choices made by players. New players wishing to play 40k games in the universe of this campaign can create their own characters be added to the tale.

Gameplay: This is not a turn based campaign. Instead, it will progress by chapters, each one advancing the campaign story, according to the outcomes of the battles fought, and choices made by players. There are several ways in which you can participate. First, you can join the various events that will be run every now and then (such as the battle for Tarandros) where major plot points will be resolved. Second, you can play narrative games using the special campaign rules. Finally, you can play regular games of 40k set in the Sorathian System.

Aside from the player armies (of which more can be added at any time), there will also be a number of NPC Warlords from various races, that will interact with players in different and hopefully fun ways. Unlike player factions, NPCs will not grow in power from game to game, though they may be affected by particularly significant plot points in the narrative. This will allow players to switch roles from time to time, should they desire to do so.

Victory Conditions: As a “story mode” campaign, everyone’s primary objective is to have as much fun as possible. However, everyone has a general goal, which are provided more as plot devices than a means to “win” the campaign. Certainly there are significant milestones that can be reached by every participant, which will give each player access to truly unique abilities, units and items.

While most faction’s objectives are known only to themselves, the Tau Empire and Imperial Guard are less than subtle about their intent to colonize the Sorathian system for the glory of their respective peoples. These two factions are unique in that they alone have the resources and inclination to occupy a world on a permanent basis. Should a Tyranid hive fleet ever reach the system, it might similarly begin to harvest planets and consume their bio-mass.

In game terms, this means that these three factions can “conquer” planets. This task will be of varying difficulty, depending on the native populations and the desire of other players to aid or oppose the would be conquerors. At the time of the campaign’s start, only Commander Darkstar of the Tau reached the system in order to lay claim to its worlds. As you can see from the galactic map, his conquest has already begun.